Riding in the dusk

There is a strange feeling when riding at this time in an evening. The sun is bellow the horizon and you just see a slight strip of light which disappears in front of your eyes, second by second. Behind you, when you turn your head, you see only darkness approaching. 

Sunset is a wonderful everyday miracle. People take it for granted, don't appreciate its beauty (only during holidays, when not working). They do not even notice it, and most of  the time, people are busy with everyday tasks and days are passing without them even take a glance at it. I must confess guilty to this myself. My working hours are like that, that several days during a week I am inside a building, missing all of the nature's good stuff. However, when I am not working, there isn't a chance that I'm missing the sunset. 

Whatever I do, wherever I am, I will look up at the sky and admire. It happens mechanically. Even if I'm inside a building I will just "feel" the approaching darkness and head to a window. Watching the dusk is something spectacular. As I said, I believe the sunset is a miracle that happens everyday in front of our own eyes, and we just cannot realise that due to are busy lives and the fact we take it for granted.

Riding in the dusk

It is the time that small round lights are starting to pop around everywhere. These are bicycle lights. During sunset there is still enough light, so bicycle lighting isn't absolutely necessary at that time, but after the sun is set and dusk appears, bicycle lights are a necessity if you want to see the road ahead of you or others seeing you.

Either being in the city's center or in a rural area, you feel the difference in your surrounding environment when riding a bicycle at that time of the day. Even the cranky type of cyclist, will cannot help it and grin.

When being in the city, everything starts to look more beautiful around you. The buildings, the people, other bicycles...even cars! Dusk light is really complementing. When being into the city, riding my bicycle and heading somewhere, I suddenly find myself slowing down my speed. Even if I'm hurry. It happens automatically. My heart craves to just be out and ride my bicycle for more time, but my mind speaks up and says that I'll be late. So I continue to head to my destination, but slower, trying to win a few more minutes outside at this beautiful hour.

When being in a rural area, riding in the dusk feels different than riding into the city. You start to notice other things. You "feel" the nature "waking" up. Birds are starting to hide into their nests, stop to tweet and a sudden silence is filling the air. At that time, when the dusk gets a deeper and darker color, you hear the owls. When riding far from street lights, your eyes will start to glance some creatures that fly irregularly in the air, bats. If you are lucky enough, you might cross paths with a fox or a weasel. Riding in the dusk in a rural area, when being all alone, away of any source of lighting, it is somewhat eerie, but nice! 

After a couple of minutes, dusk is over and you find yourself riding in the dark. Now you cannot see anything around you. You can only watch ahead, where your bicycle light illuminates the road. You continue to observe shadows, but cannot familiarize with the shapes of the creatures or the trees you notice. 

Do not feel sad though, there is always tomorrow's dusk!

The first cold of the season

Fall is the season of extreme differences in air's temperature here in Greece. One minute the sun shines bright and you feel its warmth upon your skin and the other you suddenly find yourself in desperate need of a jacket. It is not so much that the degrees are low, but it is the constant changes of the temperature throughout the day that feel overwhelming. 

During the previous week, the temperature in the morning/evening was at 18°C and in the middle of the day it reached at 30°C. This temperature pattern continued till yesterday, and I was getting used to it. 

However today, morning's temperature was at 14°C. The air felt cold and it made my eyes tear. I wore a T-shirt, a cardigan and a jean jacket but the cold air managed to reach my body even despite all those layers. In the middle of the day the temperature didn't rise that much, it was only at 17°C and it rained constantly throughout the whole morning. It stopped to rain at 13:00 p.m. The fluffy clouds were all over the sky and they are until now, but they scattered a little bit. 

No need to describe how amazing the scenery is! I love this kind of weather! The near landscapes are more dramatic and the colors are magnificent. Last but not least, the wonderful scent of rain that fills up my nostrils completes the whole experience.

Now the temperature is at 15°C and the humidity is at 80% which makes it feel rather cold. 

I must say that today was the first cold of the season, as I felt my spine shivering regardless of all the cycling. Transitional weather can get a bit confusing, as one cannot be fully prepared. The weather conditions are unpredictable. 

Today was the day that I finally realised that we are heading towards the winter. I knew it is the end of September and that the fall season is here, but I didn't "feel" it until now, in spite of all the past storms.

I feel ready to welcome the cold weather. The first cold of the season is over and my body got its "shock" of the difference in temperature. Embracing lower temperatures can be a little overwhelming to some but only the first time is difficult. When the initial shock of coldness is over, then it becomes much easier. You know what to expect.

How do you feel now that it is cold outside?

Why do you ride a bicycle?

I looked outside of the window. The sky was clear, only a few clouds were far away in the horizon. It wouldn't rain today. I opened the door and got my bicycle out. It was a bit chilly. The bright sun might disguise it, but the fall season is finally here. I wore my light jacket over my shirt and off I went with my bicycle.

The cool morning air hit my face. There was complete silence. There weren't many cars on the road as I had still twenty minutes before the rush hour. I rolled my bicycle all the way to the city center. Upon arriving to my destination, I said good morning to my colleagues and locked my bicycle to the next shop's pipe drain. I then grabbed my handbag from my front basket and entered the shop where I work. 
Two o'clock. It's time for my lunch break. I must return to the shop at five sharp. I have three hours for eating, resting, catching up with some friends. If the weather is still nice I might go for a ride afterwards, when the shops are closed.

The hours passed really quickly. I returned to the shop and continued my work. At nine o'clock it was time to start closing. We were helping the last customers out and at 9:15 I was once again outside unlocking my bicycle. The air was a little crisp, but nothing special. I wore my light jacket and I was fine. I went for a night ride. I met some friends. We decided to ride all together. We talked and laughed. As our bicycles rolled, the wind blew my hair.
It felt nice talking to friends while riding a bicycle. We paid no attention to where we were going. We just kept rolling with no destination. After some time and because it was late and we all had to work tomorrow, we said our goodbyes and each one headed to its home. 
After a while, I carried my bicycle inside and went upstairs to take a warm shower. 
Another day had ended.

...A couple of days later, I was with some other friends out. We had an appointment at a local cafe. I arrived there as usual with my bicycle. Not long after sitting down they started to ask me questions. At first the questions were just about general stuff related to cycling, we later covered the topic about the city's horrible bicycle infrastructure and after getting that discussion to an end, a girl who came later to our company suddenly asked "Why do you ride a bicycle?".
Truly she couldn't understand why I cycle when the infrastructure isn't suitable. She supported that if it was like that were she lives (Belgium) she wouldn't ride her bicycle at all!
...I sat in silence for a bit to put my thoughts in order. That wasn't the first time someone asked me this question. The answer is simple. Because I like it, I find it convenient and cycling just makes my day! But this answer doesn't seem enough for other people, even if these people are cyclists, too.

The truth is, that even though that the bicycle infrastructure is horrible, we cyclists don't have problems with navigating through the city. We just avoid and don't use the infrastructure. We don't do that in purpose, it is just that the majority of the cycle paths that are into the city are in irrelevant places and sparse to each other. That is why that all cyclists use the roads.
However there is courtesy in the roads. It is easy to move around, either being on a bicycle or inside a car. Everyone keeps the priority. It may seem a bit chaotic to cyclists from other countries with proper bicycle infrastructure to ride a bicycle on the roads here, but in reality it is not. There are a lot of cars only in the main roads. Also the average speed is low. It isn't dangerous. Someone must just try it for himself to understand fully what I'm saying. 
But despite the lack of bicycle infrastructure I ride simply because I prefer to do so. When I cycle to places I feel that I earn time, not only because cycling is faster and more convenient into the city but because when I'm riding my bicycle, I'm living my life! Imagine the day that I've described above without a bicycle. It was a day that I was working for over nine hours. If someone took the cycling out of that day, then it wouldn't be a nice day. The reason I liked that day, it was because of all the cycling. I arrived at work in the morning fully awaken and refreshed from the early exercising. In the lunch break, the three hours were enough for me to recharge my batteries and enjoy myself and the company of others. The same applies to the night ride, too. If I didn't had a bicycle, I would just drive home and watched TV as most of the people do.

In other words, without the bicycle riding, that particular day would be an empty day, with the bicycle riding it was a full day!

Why do you ride a bicycle?

Taking care of a bicycle

A bicycle is a machine. Every machine needs some proper maintenance to keep running smoothly. Taking care of a bicycle isn't a hard thing to do, but it is a very important one. No one wants to ride a bicycle that feels like a slug or squeaks!

Just keep in mind to do yourself a couple of things on your bicycle regularly and your bicycle will feel smooth like butter when riding.

First of all, maintain a proper tire pressure. A bicycle that has a lower pressure on its tires feels like a drag. If you feel that your bicycle is slow and not so comfortable when rolling anymore, chances are you may need to pump up those tires! Invest in a good floor-pump and check your bicycle tires every week or so (depending on the use) for the right pressure. Do not make the mistake though and assume that your bicycle tires are inflated properly because you pumped them in the past and then left the bicycle unused. Bicycle tires loose air even when the bicycle isn't being used! 

Maintaining a proper tire pressure is important, not only because it affects the riding quality, but because tires that aren't inflated suitably are more prone to punctures.

Another thing that you must do for your bicycle is to lubricate the chain. When doing this regularly, the chain not only will run smoothly through the cogs but will also be not so apt to rust. You have to be careful though, do not put so much oil on the chain, as oil attracts dirt and grime. You do not want your bicycle chain to have a messy black and thick coating, as this will have the opposite effect. A light coating is all you need. I do this once per month on dry months, and every two weeks on wet months. My bicycle chain is still rust free and as good as new, despite the fact I live in a coastal area, where is humid, and that my house, where I park my bicycle, is only 40 meters away from the sea. (Your lubing times may vary, it depends on where you live and the conditions you ride, the wetter the ride, the more often you need to lubricate your chain.)

An additional thing to do is to inspect for scratches on your bicycle. At first, when I saw a scratch I felt my heart sink, but with time I got over it. Bicycles are getting scratched all the time! There is nothing we can do. What we can do is to find the scratches and coat them with clear nail polish (my little secret). The nail polish prevents the bare metal from forming rust (it works like a barrier, it doesn't let the metal to come in contact with the oxygen in the air, thus the metal does not oxidize) and it is also durable. Just keep in mind to clean (and then let dry well) the surface of the scratch before applying the nail polish. 

Last but not least don't forget to clean your bicycle. I usually just wipe the whole bicycle with a wet paper towel every now and then and wipe the cogs of the derailleur with a dry paper towel. When the bicycle is really dirty I might give it a proper wash, but that is something I've done only twice in the one and a half year that I own this bicycle. If you are properly lubricating your bicycle chain, then it doesn't need to be cleaned that often either. Mine is relatively free of grime. 

And that was all! These were the four most important things you need to do when taking care of a bicycle. I'm not saying that this is all the maintenance a bicycle needs, but these are the things that every bicycle user must take into account for a properly working bike!

There are of course other things (like adjusting your brakes, etc.) but these were the most simple and common "Have To's" associating with a bike.

And remember that when you're taking care of a bicycle, not only it will last longer, but it will have a better riding quality, too!

Meeting up with a snake

Our first meeting, I'm taking the photograph from far away!

It was an ordinary day, I was returning home as usual after work at early evening. The whole route went without any problems. It was just a regular ride home when suddenly I came across to an unexpected situation. 

There it was in front of me, the dead body of a big snake, just lying there, headless with a big rock in the side.

When I noticed it at first I startled a little bit as I didn't know if it was alive or not. As you can see I took a photograph from some distance as I was afraid. After doing that, I quickly grabbed my bicycle and continue my journey. It was much later at the safeness of my living room, while sitting in the sofa, that I remember to take out my cell-phone and start to observe the picture (and the snake itself) with more detail. 

Zoomed in, to see the head better.

The head had been cut off indeed as I noticed at first sight before, although I do not believe it was done with the rock. The cut edges indicate that the head was bitten and pulled. This immediately makes me think that maybe the shepherd's dog had something to do with it, as the snake was find in its lair. 

The next day, when I passed again from that spot, the corpse of the snake was vanished. The clock was ticking so I didn't have the time to stop and look around if someone had move it. I just continue my ride and forgot the whole thing.

Another week passed, and I came across the snake's corpse once again! It was the same snake by no doubt. Except being headless, it had the exact same color patches as the previous one, which means only that it was indeed the same snake. 

Our second meeting! No rock found anywhere around this time!

This time I wasn't afraid any more, so I left my bicycle at the side of the road, pulled out my cell-phone (to take another picture) and stood over the snake to examine it.

Again, zoomed in.

It was a big snake, not so much by length, but more by width. I searched the web taking into account the characteristics of the snake, the photographs and also the fact that the area there is filled with almond trees and olive trees, but I didn't found what type of snake it was.

What it seemed odd though, was the fact that it was still there. Makes me wonder, who moved it in the first place and why did he placed it back on the road after one week. The first time I thought that maybe the garbage man might had picked it up and threw it away, but now, after seeing it again I was thinking that the dog must had been playing with it. 

This was the first time that I had come across a snake in real life. 

I have seen many type of snakes in zoos but never when riding my bicycle home!

It was something different. It left me with mixed feelings as I felt bad for the poor creature, but nature has its rules, and the snake was the dog's victim. Nothing we can do about it, this is how it works. The strongest takes out the weakest. But still...

Anyway, who knows what will I come across tomorrow? Riding a bicycle in rural areas has its surprises!

Have you ever bumped into an unusual animal of any kind while riding your bicycle? How did you felt? 

Cycling and insomnia

Today i will refer to a delicate matter. It is not exactly bicycle related but I noticed that cycling contributes to it in a positive way. 

Going to sleep was never an easy task for me. Someone would never describe me as a deep-sleeper, even now. On the other hand, I troubled a lot with sleeping for a long period of time. I would just lie there and watch the hours go by until it was time to get up. But getting to sleep wasn't my only problem, I was troubled during the sleep, too. Usually I would wake up with no reason during the night, more than once each night, or I would sleep very light and the slight noise would wake me up instead.

In my family I'm the only one who troubles with sleeping, so I couldn't get much help from there. I started to experiment with different things, to find the reason behind my insomnia. The first thing that I've read somewhere was that maybe I didn't get enough tired during the day. I couldn't understand how was that possible as I was always an active person, and I don't mean only mentally (with school at first, then my studies at the university, later my job, etc.), but physically as well. Before being a cyclist I was an avid walker. Where I cycle now, I used to walk at that time, I also lived into the city at that time and not in the suburbs so it was easy for me to just get out of the door and walk to places. Anyway, I considered this "not being enough tired" idea and doubled my efforts.

Want to know the result? 

I was not only unable to sleep but I felt awful, too. I was feeling tired constantly, and even after lying down I was too tired to sleep. I don't know if that ever happened to you, but I don't know how else to describe it. 

The second advise I followed was to avoid using a computer before sleep. I must say that this piece of advise is correct. During my studies at the university, we had a class about how the levels of the hormone melatonin were influenced by the color blue. Blue is an artificial color, it doesn't exist in the nature. Only the sky is blue and the sea, but both change color when it starts to get dark, so blue vanishes. Case studies show that blue color blocks the production of this particular hormone (melatonin) which leads to insomnia. Computer monitors emit mostly the color blue than any other color. One of the reasons I chose this particular color pattern for this blog was exactly that! People tend and like to sit on their computers and read something before going to bed, so I wanted something far away from blue. The opposite of blue is the orange, but because it is very bright I went with a cappuccino color instead. 

Reducing the use of the computer before bed had a positive outcome to my sleep quality, but not enough. What turned out to be really beneficial was cycling!

I do not know if it is the everyday and constant training you get when transporting by bicycle, that tires you enough but without getting you exhausted, or the fact that cycling itself keeps you outside, closer to nature where humans initially belong, which "balances" the body, but cycling surely helped a lot with my insomnia! I never took any drugs or stuff like that to get to sleep, most of the times I just lied there and watch the clock while the hours pasted. I believe taking medicine to sleep is far worse than the insomnia itself. 

I do notice though that after incorporating cycling into my everyday life, my sleeping troubles were much better. Okay, I am still a light-sleeper, I cannot change that, this is how I was made, but now I don't wake up during the night that often, and if I do it will only be once, and also I've noticed that the initial time for me to actually fall asleep is decreased. At first it would take 2-3 hours for me to get asleep, or I wouldn't sleep at all, but now only about thirty minutes to an hour! 

But exactly because I acknowledge that I have sleeping issues, I try and follow a sleeping routine, where I set a certain hour schedule and stick to it. I also have said goodbye to coffee, strong tea and chocolate drinks altogether. (This particular part was difficult for me, as I love all three of them! I will have them occasionally, but only in the morning and in small amounts.) And last but not least I keep pedaling to places, as this resulted to be the most beneficial!

Do you have any trouble with sleeping? Have you ever considered taking up cycling or some other physical activity? 

If you have insomnia, how do you handle it?

Upright cycling! Is there more to it?

Riding an upright bicycle feels totally different than riding a bicycle that requires the rider to bend forward. 

First of all, the number one myth related to upright bicycles is that these bicycles are slow. Either navigating inside a town/city or suburb areas, an upright bicycle isn't slower than any other bike, it is just more comfortable.

I always support that it is not the bicycle that makes the rider but it is the rider that makes the bicycle! 

If you tend to ride in smaller gears, you will be riding slowly, no matter if using a mountain bike, a racing bike or an upright bicycle. 

When first starting to commute by bicycle it is natural to be kind of slow, but after giving it some time, your endurance will improve, your legs will get stronger, you will start to ride on higher gears and you will improve your commuting times day after day. When first starting to use a bicycle for transportation, most of the people, at least in European cities, choose to buy an upright bicycle and when these people ride their bicycles and see that the other cyclists overtake them, they then blame the bicycle. But in reality it is not the bicycle, it is just a coincidence. They must first build some endurance and they will become faster cyclists themselves overtime. 

Is there more to upright cycling?

Upright cycling isn't slow as I stated above, it is just more comfortable. You are being able to ride with a straight back, which feels more relaxing. Additionally you can see better, as the upright position is the natural position of a human being, and because you are higher off the ground you get to see above cars too (which for me really is a plus, for obvious reasons!)

Also, by using an upright bicycle, you do not have to sacrifice your style and wear cycling appropriate clothing, but your everyday normal clothes are just fine. No wrinkles from bending over! Upright cycling is no different than sitting in a chair! (You have to look presentable for work.)

But the most important thing of all is that with upright cycling you're looking good too! Now, before starting to object and argue about not caring for the looks, let me explain this part a little bit.

- What we cyclists want more?

-  Being safe and free when moving around the city. 

- Why it isn't safe right now?

-  Because there are many cars and little of us.

- What if it was the other way around? Wouldn't be safer? 

- Yes.

- How will the number of cyclists increase? 

- By making cycling more desirable to other people and by decreasing the convenience of car usage.

- How will cycling become more desirable?

- By looking good.

Exactly! This is the first bate. 

It may not be the primary goal, as cycling has a lot more to offer to a city (cleaner environment, more space for the citizens and for planting trees, etc.) Also, people on bicycles are feeling more proud of their stamina, good health, and lively energy, than if they are looking good when riding an upright bicycle or not. 

Us humans, do not forget though, that we are more visual types. To open our minds to a new approach we have to visualize it first. Most people relate bicycle riding as something that will need a lot of effort and that will make them tired, sweaty and late to work. By riding an upright bicycle and sitting up straight, we are looking good and we are more attractive that way to non cyclists. We are the given example to them of how it is to ride a bicycle for transportation.

I believe the marketing behind promoting cycling into the cities is all wrong, because it only emphasizes the positive impact bicycles have to the environment.

People care about the environment, but not many are willing to "sacrifice" their attractiveness for it.  As swallow as it sounds, it is true. 

I strongly support that the key marketing for promoting cycling into the cities is to make it attractive to the people who do not ride a bicycle and the only way we can achieve that is by looking good while doing it, and we make it look good with upright cycling!

Do you believe bicycle advocates should highlight the fact how good people that ride upright bicycles look, as well? 

Do you think it will attract more non cyclists into cycling?

The approaching storm

Yesterday morning, when I was pedaling my way to the city, I noticed the sky. There were some really beautiful clouds that attracted my attention. 

Not the milky and powdery flat clouds, but some nice, full and fluffy looking ones! 

The weather broadcast said that we should expect a storm in the afternoon, but as you can observe from the pictures, although it was still 9:00 a.m. in the morning the first big clouds were already approaching.

As you might already know from my other post, rain is one of my most beloved physical phenomenons. There is something about rain, especially if we are talking about a good storm, that really excites me!

I understand that you may nod your head with question while reading these lines, as most of the people really love the sun more. I like the sun, too. But I do not love it. Someone might say that this is because I've always had plenty of sun, so the stormy weather is more rare and that is why I love the rain. However I don't think that is the case, because the majority of people here love the sun and hate the rain.

Furthermore, rain isn't actually rare here. This is a misunderstanding. When you are referring Greece to people, in everyones' minds appear images that show some nice beaches, the warm sun, the blue sky and the crystal clear waters. These images are correct, however Greece isn't a tropical place. We don't have an eternal summer. Actually Greece is a country that has all the four seasons.

I really like the fact that here we experience all the seasons, because when you start to get tired from the one pattern of the weather, the time approaches and the season is changing. In this way you never get bored of the weather as it is never the same.

After finishing my errands and a couple of minutes before reaching my home, I stopped and took more pictures of the sky. The clouds were starting to have a more deep grey color, at that point I also started to smell the rain, a sign that showed that the approaching storm was close. It was 15:00 at that time. Half an hour later, these nicely filled with moisture clouds released themselves and heavy rain started to fall towards the ground. What a sensation! It continued to rain throughout the whole day. (My bicycle was prepared though! My lights were working perfectly when I left in the afternoon and returned back in the late evening.) 

Even after midnight, when I headed to my bed to sleep, the storm was still raging outside. 

I slept with the hear of a thunder. Lightning strikes were lighting the area every two seconds and the noise that accompanies the lightning strikes was continuous. I tried to keep my eyes open, I wanted to observe this wonderful phenomenon a little bit more before I fall asleep, but I was too tired and after a while I was in deep sleep.

Some people like to compare the rain with the snow, but I think that these two phenomenons are totally different.

Yes, snow is just frozen rain, but the character of each one is different.

Rain is more fierce. You can experience a storm with all of your senses.

First of all you can smell it! There is this distinctive scent. That special earthy aroma. When smelling the scent of rain, is like you can almost taste it! 

You can also feel the raindrops in your skin. Have any of you ever notice, that even during a really heavy rain, the raindrops are never hurting your skin? You just fill the same pressure that you feel in the shower. The thought of a heavy rain makes us uncomfortable, not the raindrops themselves.

In addition, a storm is so beautiful to watch. The surroundings get a deep color, everything looks more mysterious. You observe the different rhythms of the falling water and the "dancing" of the lightning strikes. 

You can also hear the drops falling and the thunders. Who of us does not like to fall asleep while hearing a storm outside?

I do not know about you, but speaking of myself, rain gives me a weird sensation. I feel an excitement filled with relaxation. It is an odd and mixed feeling. 

Snow on the other hand is something very different. It is more silent, the sensation is different. Snow is more peaceful. It is a white blanket that covers everything and makes the surroundings really beautiful. To me these two are totally different phenomenons and I do not like when people are comparing them. Each one has it's own beauty and grace.

Today it rained again. When it happened, I was out having lunch with my family and some cousins. We were sitting outside, so I saw the signs of the approaching storm. We didn't bother from the rain, we were covered. 

The stray cats that begged for food from the people sitting in the restaurant weren't happy though! I threw them my fish bone as a little treat. 

Do you have four seasons where you live? Are autumn's first rainfalls started yet?

Waterproofing my lights

When I installed my new light set in February, I had to proceed to a custom solution as the front light was for a hub dynamo but I had a bottle dynamo on my bicycle. 

There wasn't a problem with the light itself but with the cables. A light intended for a hub dynamo has a really short cable, as the hub is only a few centimeters further down, and I had to find a way to connect the cables that run from the bottle dynamo and through the frame to the front light.

The custom solution that I followed was to cut a little bit the cable that came out of the front light and shorten it, so it wouldn't hang weirdly, and use some special clips for the cables to fasten the two different cables together. And I did this procedure two times, as I had to fasten together the grounding cables, too. 

This solution was effective and my lights worked alright. 

But after two months of cycling, one day that it rained really hard, my front light just didn't light up. At first I thought that the bottle dynamo was slipping, but that was not the case as the rear light was working. I then came to conclusion that maybe the system with the clips and the cables might got loose. I tried to adjust it but it was okay. 

I finally thought that maybe there was water into the clip and that is why the front light didn't work so I decided to give it a couple of days so that the water could evaporate.

I knew that the water was the problem because the previous night the lights worked fine. 

After two days I tried again to use the lights but still the front light remained unlit. 

The next day I called a friend who knows about bicycles to look it up. He adjusted the cables again and then the light became lit!

What a joy! The front light working meant I didn't have to ride in absolute darkness as I had been doing for the last three days.

So imagine my frustration when at the same night, after I've finished my work and wanted to head home, the light didn't work again!

The next day I called him back. The light was properly working when he came and saw it. 

Then it hit me! 

This particular light has two leds and an auto mode, during day one led it is on, during night the other one. After that dreadful rain the night mode wasn't working anymore. I was so sad! I gave up and rode in darkness for the rest of the week. 

One night, with a feeling of sadness I looked down at my front light and decided to turn it on to see what might happen...

...And it was suddenly working again! I just couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing! 

I then realised that my first impression was right. Indeed my lighting system had got water into it, although not the clips/cables, but the front light itself! The instructions said to avoid turning the bicycle upside down during washings as the bottom of the front light has holes and it might not work after being wet. I didn't wash my bicycle or anything, but as you can notice yourself from the pictures, my light is in front of the fender, not on top, and when it rains, water is splashing all over it! That was the problem!
(Fortunately the front light is still working perfectly until now.)

So that is why I've decided to waterproof my lights, as we are officially heading into the raining season. We already had our first big storm yesterday which reminded me that I need to do some waterproofing to my lights, so they won't have any problems in the future.

What did I do?

I used some electrical tape, which is supple and also more insulating, and covered the whole clip/cable system. I took my time doing it to ensure that every bit was properly covered and that water wouldn't be able to run through even during the heaviest downpour.

Furthermore, I used some electrical tape to secure the bottom part of my front light, too. I sealed the opening and double checked it to be sure that it is fully closed now and no water can come in through it. 

And that was it!

Who could ever told me that a piece of an electrical tape would ever give me such a joy! 

I feel happy as I believe that now my bicycle is ready to face even the most extreme rainfalls!

Are you prepared for the raining season?

Do you have any bits in your bicycle that might need some sealing or adjusting?

Bicycle fenders - are they important?

Bicycle fenders are not there just for the looks!

I was talking to a friend of mine and he said he doesn't understand why I'm keeping my bicycle fenders on now that it is summertime. According to him, bicycle fenders are an extra weight during summer, because it doesn't rain that often, but only 3-5 days in every summer month.

After some discussion with others too, I've come to realise that many bicycle users share this opinion. Most of these believers are men. Women on the other hand do not bother with the uninstall of their bicycle's fenders. And I'm not talking only about women riders that have the same type of bicycle as mine, but also about women that ride bicycles with clip-on fenders. 

It is true that removing bicycle fenders from my bicycle is difficult, as I must first remove the basket and the racks, following by my bicycle lights and then the wheels, so I can be able to reach the screws that hold the bicycle fenders in place. I must admit that I am not willing to do all this work just to get rid of some grams from my bicycle!

But what about the other women? The ones that have clip-on fenders on their bicycles, why do they keep their fenders on even during summer? 

The most popular answer was because bicycle fenders are part of the bicycle itself and that they are useful even during summer.

Let me explain this a little...

Yes, rain is more rare, but the grime from the roads is still present, as long with water coming from human presence (the lady who washed her balcony/porch/pavement in front of her house, the leftover ice that is melting in the side of the street after the closing of the stores that sell fish, water coming from the watering of city's plants, etc). 

And when the occasional rainstorm approaches, you will have nothing to worry about as you are already prepared!

In addition to all, I would like also to say that fenders are helping to keep the bicycle itself clean from grime, as whatever the wheel picks up is stopped by the fender. Even small rocks sometimes! My bicycle fenders are made of steel and I hear often the cling sound of a small rock hitting the inner side of my fender.

Last but not least do not forget that summer duration is small and that today is the first day of autumn. In two days we are expecting thunderstorms and there are plenty more to follow from now on!

Bicycle fenders are an important tool! If you ride a bicycle for transportation then fenders should be a standard accessory on your bike. 

...The image of a cyclist with a black line across his back from the latest rain is still vivid in my mind!

I advise you, as we are officially in autumn now, to install bicycle fenders. 

I spend the whole previous winter riding all the time, because I had fenders! Even with heavy rain, I used my bicycle! I would wear my long coat, my hood and my boots, and be off my way and reached my destination wet from the outside (but clean-wet) and nice and dry from the inside!

Other times , when my coat/jacket didn't had a hood, I wore a hat or hold an umbrella.

If you consider rain as a problem for you to continue cycling in the winter, then use fenders! It makes cycling so much more convenient! Believe me when I'm saying this, but when it is raining half the water comes from the sky and the other half from the ground. With the use of bicycle fenders you block that second half.

Do not worry about grams and weight. Bicycle is a tool after all and fenders are an important part of it!